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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wie’s 16 may be sweet


Sources say Michelle Wie may be ready to turn pro next month and immediately become a millionaire. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

Everywhere she goes, people can’t help but notice Michelle Wie.

As a 13-year-old still wearing a retainer, she was warming up on the practice range for a junior pro-am at the Sony Open in Honolulu. When she pulled out her driver, five PGA Tour players on both sides of her stopped to watch her launch tee shots that approached the 300-yard marker.

Last year in Portugal, where Wie received the Laureus World Newcomer of the Year award, she walked into the banquet room filled with celebrities that included Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Placido Domingo.

“Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and watched her go to her table,” said Greg Nared, a Nike business manager who has been tracking Wie the last two years. “That told me a lot.”

The 15-year-old from Hawaii who commands so much attention is on the verge of commanding top money. Wie is about to turn pro, and endorsements estimated to be worth as much as $10 million a year await.

Two sources close to Wie, speaking on condition of anonymity because she is still an amateur, said the announcement will not be made until endorsement deals are signed.

That could be done before the Samsung World Championship, which starts Oct. 13, two days after her 16th birthday. It will be the eighth and final LPGA Tour event Wie plays this year.

“There is nothing to say until everything is completed,” her father, B.J. Wie, said Wednesday.

He added that “we are getting close,” but said her decision to turn pro would not be related to Samsung.

“It doesn’t have to be associated with a tournament she would play,” the father said. “There is no target date we have to meet.”

When it happens, she will be the highest-paid female golfer in the world.

One deal that is nearing completion is with Nike, which could be worth between $4-5 million. Wie has been playing its irons and golf ball the last two years, and often wears the swoosh on her clothing.

Hurricane threatens PGA event

The greens at the Resort Course at La Cantera should be smooth and the sky clear for the first two rounds of the Texas Open in San Antonio.

But if the remnants of Hurricane Rita hit San Antonio over the weekend, the weather will only add to the uncertainty at a tournament that many golfers say already has a wide-open field.

“Our job is to not think about (weather) too much and just play,” said defending champion Bart Bryant, who shot a course-record 60 in the third round last year. “But the Texas wind can make a fairly easy course more difficult.”

The approaching storm prompted Steve Elkington to pull out of the tournament. Elkington, who finished tied for second at the PGA Championship, lives with his family in Houston.